Twice Upon A Time {reader x once upon a time}

Preparing for the curse

After talking with Rumplestiltskin, Snow White and the Prince called upon a council meeting to discuss what they should do next regarding the Evil Queen's curse. This council was formed by the royal couple, a handful of guards, three of the seven dwarves, Red and her Gramma, Jiminy Cricket and Geppetto

"I say we fight" said David while standing up and hitting the table with his fist

"Fighting is a bad idea" said Jiminy "Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything

"And how many wars has a clear conscience won?" asked David in return "We need to take the Queen out before she can inflict her curse"

"Can we even trust Rumplestiltskin?" asked Doc

"I've sent my men into the forest" said the Prince "The animals are abuzz with the Queen's plan. This is going to happen unless we do something"

"There's no point" said Snow. She was sitting at the table looking defeated "The future is written"

"No, I refuse to believe that. Good can't just lose!" said David

"Maybe it can" softly admitted Snow

"No. No, not as long as we have each other" her husband told her "If you believe him about the curse, then you must also believe him about our children. They will be as he said" At that moment, the Blue Fairy entered the room, guards carrying a tree behind her "What the hell is this?" asked the Prince

"Our only hope of saving those children" said the fairy calmly

"A tree?" Grumpy didn't look too convinced about it "Our fate rests on a tree? Let's get back to the fighting thing"

But the Blue Fairy continued her explanation "the tree is enchanted. If fashioned into a vessel it can ward off any curse. Geppetto, can you build such a thing?"

"Me and my boy, we can do it" the man answered with confidence

The fairy turned back to Snow and the Prince "This will work; we all must have faith"

"Will it protect everyone from the curse?" he inquired

"I'm afraid not" responded her "The enchantment is indeed powerful, but all power has its limits, and this tree can protect only two" and as she said this, she sent a discreet look to Geppetto, for this was a lie they had previously agreed on to tell the royal couple so his son Pinocchio could also be protected from the curse

After failing to enact the curse, the Evil Queen decided to visit her teacher in order to get answers

"It's just us dearie. You can show yourself" he said to the rat that was running around next to his cell. A cloud of purple smoke surrounded it and in its place appeared Regina

"That curse you gave me... it's not working" she went straight to the point of the conversation

"Oh, so worried. So, so worried" he mocked her like he did Snow White "like Snow and her lovely new husband"

"What?" she couldn't help but be surprised they had come to him

"They paid me a visit as well. They were very anxious. About you, and the curse" he admitted to her

She stepped closer to the cell "And what did you tell them?" She needed to know everything they knew about her plan. She couldn't risk losing again, not when she was so close to finally getting her revenge

"The truth!" he admitted again "That nothing can stop the Darkness! Except, of course, their unborn twins. You see, no matter how powerful, all curses can be broken" he was having fun mocking the Evil Queen "Their children are the key. Of course, the curse has to be enacted first"

"Tell me what I did wrong" the Queen demanded

"For that, there's a price" he said

"What do you want?" Again, she went straight to the point

"Simple. In this new land, I want comfort. I want a good life"

"Fine!" she cut him off "You'll have an estate, be rich"

"I wasn't finished! There's more" said the Dark One

"There always is with you" Regina was growing impatient; she didn't have time to lose with his games

"Yeah, yeah. In this new land, should I ever come to you for any reason, you must heed my every request. You must do whatever I say, so long as I say..." he paused and slightly poke his tongue out before finishing talking "please" he gasped at the end

"You do realize that should I succeed; you won't remember any of this?" Regina informed her teacher

"Oh, well then, what's the harm?" he replied

"Deal" she answered smiling and he chuckled. Now it was her turn to get what she wanted "What must I do to enact this curse?"

"You need to sacrifice a heart" was the answer she got

"I sacrificed my prized steed" Hearing this, Rumplestiltskin grabbed the Queen by the neck "a horse!?" He didn't put any pressure but he wanted to make her realize how important this was This is the curse to end all curses. You think a horse is gonna do?" he was looking straight into her eyes as he gave Regina this information "Great power requires great sacrifice. The heart you need must come from something much more precious"

"Tell me what will suffice" asked the Queen, and the Dark One answered "The heart of the thing you love most"

Regina took Rumplestiltskin hand away from her throat and replied angrily "What I love most died because of Snow White"

Once more, the Dark One mocked the Queen "ooh, is there no one else you truly love? This curse isn't gonna be easy, vengeance never is, dearie. You have to ask yourself one simple question: how far are you willing to go?"

"As far as it takes" answered the Queen in a soft but firm tone

"Then please stop wasting everyone's time and just do it" the Dark One said "You know what you love. Now go kill it"